Letters

June 20, 2006

Terra Nova Program

Must Be Reinstated

I am at a total loss to understand why the Enfield Board of Education has made the decision to cut the Terra Nova Program from next year's budget.

If the program's statistics are accurate, we have approximately 113 Enfield graduates who otherwise would be high school drop-outs if the program had not been in place for our students for the last few years. Far too many of our vulnerable kids are overwhelmed with peer-pressure (i.e. youthful curiosity and experimentation), class sizes much too large, along with indifferent teachers and administrators. Without any one of us fully understanding the whys and why-nots of determining a student's success in the academic world, we should be appreciative of the Terra Nova Program and its purpose of providing a safety net for the students who need extra help. I know it will pay dividends for our young people in the future, if we will only spare the effort and the money to invest in them at this young age.

If our kids were growing up in a perfect world, with perfect families, and perfect teaching institutions, perhaps we could feel confident that they would all excel and move on to a bright and promising future. But surely the members of the Enfield Board of Education must be aware of the cultural environment in which our students are struggling. As long as this trend continues, let us not put our heads in the sand or slip into a state of denial, or make excuses with our judgmental attitudes, but work long and hard at problem-solving and reap the success of our children and a school system of which we can truly be proud. Isn't that our slogan, "Dignity, Pride, and Tradition"? Let's make "Dignity and Pride" live up to the true meaning, not just an image which does not always reflect reality.